Living in Preparation for Eternity

Living in Preparation for Eternity Devotional Reading August 20, 2023

We are living on the threshold of eternity. Are you living wisely? Does your life reflect the Righteousness of Christ?

The foundation of our relationship with Christ is based on love—His love for us is always consistent, but sadly, our love for Christ is changeable, often vacillating because of our heart’s desires and circumstances.

The love we have for God is revealed every day by our goals, plans, thoughts, spoken words, and actions which demonstrate our faithfulness to God. From our faith springs trust, obedience, and the desire to stay connected to Christ, the Source of our lives.

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” —Ephesians 5:15-17

Every believer reaches a crossroads in their relationship with God which requires a declaration of who is first in their life. There is no middle ground, either God is first or we are first. For us to serve God, we must give a sacrificial offering. The things we treasure the most, money, material goods, relationships, and jobs are the object of our sacrifice.

Where do we stand when God tells us to let go? God is not punitive. The people, jobs, material goods, wealth, goals, and plans that He is asking us to let go of are preventing us from fulfilling God’s ultimate purpose for each of us. To live with the goal of self-seeking accomplishments does not align with God’s goal of the Holy Spirit guiding and preparing us [through this earthly life] to receive our reward of eternal life when Jesus comes.

“Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?’ ” —Luke 9:23-25

Jesus tells us that we must take up our cross and follow Him. Taking up our cross is to surrender ourselves through prayer every day. Following Christ places us on the Path of Righteousness, yet, the human effort of faith and obedience along with the guidance and wisdom of the Holy Spirit keeps us on the Narrow Path.

The Narrow Way—”Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” —Matthew 7:13-14

Do we understand that our earthly struggle cannot end in victory if we fail to love, obey, and follow the will of God? Obedience is not a natural response when the requirement is in opposition to our desires. Whether we understand the prophecies in the book of Revelation or not, one thing is certain, we are living in the last days of Earth’s history.

Receiving our reward requires diligent earthly preparation. Our daily worship of surrendering to God changes our perspective of time. We use our time wisely to pray and stay in alignment with the will of God. Surrendering to Christ gives us an internal spiritual transformation and an external purpose. We no longer live for ourselves, our desire is to live in the New Heaven and New Earth.

Staying in Alignment with God Requires Action!

Salvation is not passive! Our goal is to love Christ and faithfully obey His commandments. We strive to live holy by avoiding wilful disobedience. The Holy Spirit will alert us if we are detouring from the Path.

We Are Christ’s Disciples—John 17:20-23

What does God expect of us? To live righteously, for our character to reflect the Fruit of the Spirit [Galatians 5:22-23], study the Scriptures, pray continuously, use our spiritual gifts and natural talents, witness Jesus’ love and the Plan of Salvation, and help those in need.

The Great Commission—”And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ ” —Matthew 28:18-20 Amen.

The Believer’s Outreach Calling—In our walk with Christ, we are expected to witness the love of Christ to others. God has granted us advancements in technology that allow us to reach people wherever a satellite signal exists. Jesus clarifies that the reward in Revelation chapter 22, verse 12—”And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.”

Receiving our reward is not only based on our willingness to serve, but also to perform our spiritual assignment of witnessing and helping others every day which proves our love, loyalty, faithfulness, and obedience to God. Every believer is expected to actively complete their earthly work as determined by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Serving God requires us to follow in the footsteps of Christ in His earthly ministry.

Attending church and giving tithe and offerings are God’s expectations of our service to Him. It is our outreach efforts of witnessing and helping others that we feel are optional. The parable of the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew chapter 25, verses 31-46, is regarding two groups of believers. Sadly, the goats never thought they were required to be active disciples.

We have arrived and live in the perilous times that the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to Timothy.

“But know this, that in the last days, perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” —2 Timothy 3:1-5

Satan has deceived many to have a false concept of God that He is a Punisher. And when we hear sermons or study the Bible about the destruction of the wicked and this earth, we experience feelings of “Doom and Gloom.”

If we study Revelation chapters 19 through 22 and do not get excited then our hearts are not filled with love, faith, and obedience to God. There is a better life for the faithful, righteous who surrender themselves every day and are actively working as Christ’s disciples. And our minds are focused on seeing our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and living with Him forever and ever. Amen.

Scripture: “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” —Revelation 22:20-21

Prayer: God, we ask forgiveness for not doing Your will and fulfilling our spiritual work of telling others of the love of Christ. We ask You to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and to bless us with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. We pray for wisdom and direction to do Your will. In Jesus’ Holy name, we pray. Amen.

© 2023 Steps 2 Success with Spiritual Solutions and Woman, You Are Loved by God Ministries